Weird that noone here said that, yet. But I would not go with the general rule of, "if he tells, he doesn't really wanna do it".
It sounds like he is depressed lately. That pretty much means that he doesn't know what he wants. If the urge gets too big, he might do it.
So yes, be there for him, but let him decide.
Although he is depressed, he might have thought about it pretty well, especially as you said that he mentioned it before.
This means that he needs someone to talk from the not depressed side. Not to talk him out if but to weigh things properly. He might only see negative things, but there may be a lot of positve things in his life, too, and he just can't see them now because he is depressed.

Having been there myself I know it is the best to let him decide. I wanted nearly did suicide, but that second, my mind suddenly was really clear and I didn't care, if I life or die, anymore, so I decided to try life a little longer. Suicide should always be only the last resort, not the Plan B for every inconvenience > Depression is an inconvenience, sorry to say that. The pros and cons have to be weighed out properly to decide on something like that, after all... There is no back.

Having said all that and by now very obviously, I am very much for everyone's right to end their lifes when and however they want (as long as noone else is being endangered). I am not one of the people that generally says that depressed people should not do it. In my opinion suicide is one way of nature to sort out those that do not function well and are no good for reproduction. I could go very much in depth with this topic (nature and sorting itself out) but for the sake of this thread I won't.
Just like Dom, I will most likely do it myself at some point. Mainly because I do not want to be kept alive with a living standard below horrible, I do not wanna be a vegetable at some point, and I do not want to just have machines turned off and I have to slowly sufficate in a hospital.

(09-12-2012 02:33 PM)GirlyMan Wrote:

(03-12-2012 04:07 PM)RexyRexaw Wrote: On the positive side, he says he wants to do it a certain way and will have to order things off the internet, ...

Not nessesarily. There are a lot of ways that require equipment. Ordering over the internet does not sound like something as simple as an Exit Bag

Nitrogen gas asphyxiation is the only thing that make's any sense to Girly. ... Why you gonna blow your brains out when less than a minute of breathing pure nitrogen will send you on your merry way with no discomfort. ... And if somebody's there to clean up the mess it just looks like natural causes. Think me and Manly may have already discussed this.

(03-12-2012 04:07 PM)RexyRexaw Wrote: If he does decide to go through with it, he's a 22 year old adult, there's nothing I can do but respect his choice.

I disagree with that statement. There's always something you can do to help. Further, I don't think it wise to leave life decisions up to someone who is severely depressed. When depressed humans tend to make very bad decisions. You already know your friend is in trouble or you wouldn't be calling on folks here for help. Helping your friend understand why not to do it is less like taking away someone's freedom and more like saving someone from drowning. I think it's just as inhumane to sit back and let someone kill their self as it is to watch someone drown and not help.

He needs help in any form you can lend. But it sounds like you already know this. Call an authority if need be. You know if every time he tells you he plans to do it an ambulance shows up at his door, if this is just a game he'll be disinclined to keep playing and, if not a game, at least an ambulance will be there for him.